This is an antique, four drawer, cedar lined armoire/chifferobe with original sunken wooden pulls. It is an amazing, solid piece with the great craftsmanship typical of yesteryear construction from the roll trim top to the curve-carved feet. You may recall me stating in the teaser that I was confused about which wax to use. Well, I stayed confused. What do I do in such times of brutal indecision? Use all possible choices.

Yes, that's correct. I used all three waxes - clear, dark and white. So on went the first coat of clear wax. I could not shake off my original vision of it in the beautiful watery color with a white-washed effect. So next came a testing of dark wax to rule it in or out. Too dark. Tested the white. Too white. So I rubbed on the white wax all over to get a better idea of tones. But, after applying it, I needed to tone down the white a smidge. It needed to be one notch less white. So, on went a light rubbing of dark wax. Then I wanted to be sure the white was dominant so on went another rubbing of white. Then some areas seemed a bit too solid white, which can happen, so I dry brushed the paint over the front. Much better. However, this required another clear coat. Iyiyi.

I am so sick of waxing. For today. However, the end result is precisely how I first pictured it when it came through my front door and stood all brown and dull on my cardboard painting station. White-washed watery blue. It wears it so very well, in my meager opinion.

The decoupaging adorning the bottom is like a delicate floral lace skirt. Because I loved the print so much and thought it quite quaint for the piece, I put it in the recesses of the wooden pulls. Then I drilled holes in each center and put a little glam with diamond cut glass knobs in each one. I am just so in love with the whole thing. I also lightly distressed the edges of the body and the full bottom decoupaged cuff, allowing glimpses of the blue to sneak out from underneath like a little kid stealing a shy peek from behind the mother's skirt. To me, this piece is soft and feminine and fun. Plus extremely functional. A thought of adding a slim mirror to the door flickered across my trail of design images. Well, I will yap no more and get to the photos.

I have requested Photoshop for Christmas (Mom, that's a subliminal message for you) so that the bright, true and detailed colors can be accurately reflected online. These shots don't quite capture the white wash over the aqua as the real life piece shows it. Taking indoor photos is basically the pits. For now, here is the best I could do:

Before:

The dimensions are 61" H x 36" W x 20" D. The bottom is open deep space which stretches underneath the panel of drawers for even more storage.The perfect size to store gobs of stuff but not overwhelm a room.

So endearing, so atypical and so very stunning. Such a great treatment for a piece that could seem foreboding and dark. Love your choice of colors. You have done a wonderful job of rendering this to a form of art. Bravo!

Reply

Kara

12/13/2014 12:47:11 am

Thank you! It was very bland and kind of awful but with awesome structure and space. I am so happy to hear your kind words and thoughts!!